Lakers' fast break away from Jackson opens door for D'Antoni

Mike D'Antoni has reached the Western Conference finals twice as a head coach, both times with Steve Nash as his point guard. Can he get there again, and go beyond? SETH WENIG, AP

EL SEGUNDO – The Lakers knew what their fans wanted and what the basketball world expected - another presumably glorious run with Phil Jackson as their coach.

Well, get ready for something new.

Mike D'Antoni, 61, will be the Lakers' new coach - not Jackson, who said in a statement the Lakers did not honor a verbal understanding from Executive Vice President Jim Buss and General Manager Mitch Kupchak that Jackson would have until Monday to reach a decision about the job.

Late Sunday night, D'Antoni faxed his signed contract – worth $12 million over three years, with a club option for a fourth - to the Lakers ... and Kupchak made a brief phone call that woke Jackson to notify the winningest coach in North American sports history the team he brought five championships had picked someone else.

"After speaking with several excellent and well-respected coaching candidates, Dr. (Jerry) Buss, Jim and I all agreed that Mike was the right person at this time to lead the Lakers forward," Kupchak said in a statement.

"Knowing his style of play and given the current makeup of our roster, we feel Mike is a great fit, are excited to have him as our next head coach and hope he will help our team reach its full potential."

Soon after firing Mike Brown on Friday, it was apparent the Lakers were intrigued by D'Antoni, who reached two Western Conference finals with new Lakers point guard Steve Nash dominating in Phoenix. That was before D'Antoni failed to win a playoff game in nearly four pressure-packed seasons with the New York Knicks (2008-12).

D'Antoni is recovering from knee-replacement surgery and will be introduced as Lakers coach later this week, perhaps Thursday. Interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach the Lakers tonight vs. San Antonio and probably again Friday night vs. Phoenix.

Lakers center Dwight Howard said he was excited about D'Antoni's hire.

"This will be great," Howard said. "You have guys on this team who love to play defense, and he's an offensive coach. I think we'll find a balance."

Both Howard, whom the Lakers hope to re-sign as the franchise's centerpiece, and Nash are renowned for their ability in pick-and-roll sets, the foundation of D'Antoni's fast-shooting system.

The Lakers were also concerned about how much the team struggled in Brown's read-and-react system and wondered how long it would take players such as Nash and Howard to learn Jackson's triangle offense that is also rooted in reading the defense.

The Lakers want to see as soon as possible what they have in case they need to make more personnel changes, looking at a championship window of this season and next before cutting payroll to avoid particularly heavy luxury-tax penalties.

The conclusion was that D'Antoni made more sense, even with Jackson's bountiful history and obvious interest in the job.

"We talked for over an hour and a half," Jackson, 67, said of the Saturday meeting with Kupchak and Jim Buss. "No contractual terms were discussed and we concluded with a handshake and an understanding that I would have until Monday to come back to them with my decision. I did convey to them that I did have the confidence that I could do the job."

Jackson's agent, Brian Musburger, said: "We are stunned, not so much with the decision the Lakers made, because Phil had no hold on the job. But we are stunned with the way Phil learned of it."

Jackson's disappointment was tempered by the fact he never definitively decided he wanted the job. His side was upset about media reports of him requesting an ownership stake, personnel power and extreme travel limitations, demands the Lakers did not confirm as accurate.

The bottom line is that however it happened, the Lakers chose D'Antoni over Jackson, a bold move that will have to be backed up by D'Antoni bringing defensive capability and definitely offensive wizardry.

"It should be a fun system to play in," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. "There are a lot of opportunities with an up-tempo kind of game, unselfish kind of game. We all look forward to working with it."

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